The fan on the ceiling runs idly as the sun makes a final appearance in the brothers' bedroom, light reflecting off the numerous trophies neatly covering the right side of the indoor space. It's a quieter day than usual, evidently – but in the same manner, there's a reason for the ambiance being that way.

Kel, wanting to avoid confrontation so early in the process that the group (if you could even call it that) had to go through again, decided to head out to the park and practice his shooting. It was his way of coping after all, or was it? Everyone seemingly mutually agreed to not get in the way of each other for at least, AT LEAST a few days.

Aubrey, as volatile as she is, was better left off alone. While there was a certain uncertainty surrounding her whereabouts, a safe bet was to assume she continued hanging out with her gang. Hopefully, she would keep the secret away from the Hooligans – although apparently, they weren't the only ones with that valuable information. That didn't soften the blow, as much as they'd liked to think so.

This leaves us with 2 members whose status is completely unknown. 'Better left that way' thought Hero, who sat on the floor of his side of the room, trying to make sense of what he could, if even there was anything that made sense. It was a mix of different and even contradictory feelings that he was trying to separate in order to be able to view a coherent picture. It wasn't a square divided into 2 equal sections but rather, an unknown irregular polygon with each vertex representing a thought that was growing inside the college student's mind. There were definitely winners and losers, regarding catching the former's attention.

On one hand, most feelings of guilt had disappeared alongside the surfacing of the news: there's nothing he could've done to prevent Mari's death; because it wasn't the death he believed it to be. That was… oddly reassuring. It reminded him of how much he cared about everyone and how he managed to be there for whoever needed it. It reminded him of that special bond he shared with his best friend; with who he, at the time believed, was his soulmate. Memories of the two quickly flashed through his mind, leaving a sweet taste in his mouth. A taste that he wishes he could hold onto for longer than he would actually manage to.

On the other, negative buzzwords quickly filled his brain, like a linguistic dam had given way to his insides: betrayal, hatred, helplessness, shame, among many, many others. Betrayal because he spent countless nights silently begging whatever entity might've been listening to give him a day, an hour, a minute with the girl he so much cherished – whatever was necessary to give her a reason to stay, to listen to her problems and let her know he'd always be there. Only he now knew those were nights spent in vain, as it was his brother and his friend who took her away from him. Hatred because, even if he knew it was an accident, Sunny still was the reason they couldn't spend one more moment at the park, at the plaza, at the beach. Hatred because Basil, who he thought the world of, was the reason he believed a bunch of lies; and not only believed but rolled, acted on them. Hatred because he was supposed to lead the group by example, yet, contrary to what logic would dictate, he was almost sure he would be unable to forgive his friends for what happened that night. They were kids! Children! They did what they thought was the best. And they suffered because of it! Sunny had become a soulless, walking husk who spent 4 years inside his imagination just so he could do what Hero begged for. Basil was never the same carefree, delicate, and cheery boy he once was, instead becoming a nervous wreck. A ticking time bomb. And indeed, true to the expression, he blew up, causing his quiet friend even more permanent damage. All of that because of what in, literally any other scenario, would've resulted in a few scrapes. Helplessness because after Mari's death, it was his little brother who carried the burden of fixing things up. He was the one who suffered from his wrath. He was the one who knocked on his neighbors' door for days. He was the one who had to stand up for Basil. He was the one who had to watch Aubrey become a person who could only channel her emotions through anger. He was the one who had to keep a smile through the pain. He was the one who managed to bring them all together. Hero hadn't done anything, ANYTHING at all compared to his sibling. And it killed him. Shame because after all this time, he realized he directed his life in a way that would have taken him out of the Faraway circle forever because that's what he wanted. He wanted to leave the past behind, but you can only run so far from it before it drags you back and forces you to acknowledge it.

He was a mess, and while there were other positive thoughts trying to emerge, he could only focus on the negative ones. He was a mess hiding behind the façade of the ideal young adult for many people. He pretended to be the town's pride while being completely broken. He…

He was not who he wanted to be nor who he aspired to be. And it sucked.

As this realization dawned upon him stronger with each revolution of the wheel above, tears would fall down his face quicker. At first it was 1, then 2, then 4, then… Well, counting them wasn't of any use, was it? He had mastered the art of stifling his cries. That's what must happen when you share a room with Kel.

Everything blurred together, and it was as the brush was giving final touches to what looked like a used palette that a gust of wind entered through the window, causing Hero to shiver a bit. He didn't need that right now. He got to his feet and approached the window, taking a look at Mother Nature before deciding to go back to wallowing in misery, when he noticed smoke was coming together in front of him, forming an image that was strangely familiar to him. 'Dad must be playing with the grill, huh?' he chuckled, not perceiving that what seconds before was residue, immediately took the shape of his late partner.

- "The apple didn't fall far from the tree after all." – a soft, gentle voice added in hopes of being listened to.

What? What was that?

- "Or did you think you wouldn't be such a cook if it wasn't for your parents? That's a bit pretentious, Hero." – the voice teased accordingly to a smug face the girl made.

What was happening? Was someone making fun of him? Had he imagined that? When he looked at the materialized scene, he couldn't believe his eyes.

- "M-Mari?!" – his mouth and eyes wide open.

- "That's my name."

- "This can't be."

- "But it is, you soppy nerd!" – the girl with a white dress positions herself near the dumbfounded man – "I missed you."

- "I…" – and he can't help but start bawling his eyes out again, sobs that actually are perceivable by the human ear – "Mari… Mari… I missed you too. I…"

- "It's okay, Hero. I know. I know everything. Kinda like you, huh?"

- "I don't know everything, I… didn't even know what happened to you until a few days ago…"

- "No one but them did."

A brief moment of silence ensues.

- "W-What is this?" – the med student asked aloud.

- "I came here to give you closure."

- "Huh?"

- "That's how it works, you dummy. Remember when Kel and you stayed over at our house? You woke up to Sunny in the piano room, thinking you had heard the piano being played."

- "I assumed… I had imagined it."

- "You didn't, and it wasn't Sunny who played it."

- "…"

Hero sighs.

- "So… w-what now?" – he replies while cleaning his tears with a closed fist.

- "You listen to me."

Mari sighs. She… she doesn't look comfortable nor excited to keep speaking, but she has to.

- "I've watched you these 4 years. I've watched all of you. Basil, Aubrey, Kel… Sunny, and you. I know how much you suffered because of my death. Trust me… those all-nighters. I saw them all. And if it was up to me, I would've come down and calmed you down myself. Maybe, talked with you, told you some jokes… assured you I was fine."

- "Why didn't you?!" – he looked intrigued, putting his foot in his mouth as he sounded angry.

- "I… don't even know how this works. It just does. There was a force preventing me from doing so."

- "Sorry…"

- "You don't need to apologize. The point being… I wanted to talk to you one last time. At least, that's what I can guarantee."

- "…"

- "I know you're mad at everyone. I know you're mad at yourself. I know you're mad at Basil and my little brother. I know you are, and I know if the roles were reversed, I would be too. But that's beside the point. I know it hurts, alright?" – she said with a somber smile – "It hurts that we couldn't spend more days together. It hurts that we couldn't say goodbye to each other. It hurts that my time had to be cut short. Especially because of a dumb fight. But you did everything you could and… you made my life… you made my life better than anyone could've."

Hero's throat feels weird.

- "Of course, I'm Sunny's older sibling. And I love that little, creative, quiet, shy scoundrel so much. Of course, I was a figure for Basil, for Kel, for Aubrey. I will never forget any of them. Not Basil's amazing ability to melt my heart every time he talked. Not Kel's capacity to make me angry and surprise me with… just being himself. Not Aubrey's soft heart and cute mannerisms behind a strong will and character that could stand up to any challenge."

Hero chuckles, almost laughs.

- "But they were kids after all. Imagine if Sunny wasn't my brother and I hung out with a bunch of 12-year-olds… You, you understood me better than anyone. You saw me grow, you saw me face challenges, you saw me cry, you saw me laugh." – she explained – "You saw me become a young woman. I know you did." – she insinuates, making him blush.

- "You saw every facet of me. You… you were there. And I know you know how I must feel about all of this."

He felt ashamed. It wasn't anger or disappointment that Mari wanted to express. It wasn't a punishment. It was more like a concerned mother, giving his son a pep talk after he made a mistake.

- "It was an accident. I put too much pressure on Sunny and… I wanted it to be perfect because, I realized I was growing up, and I realized how things would never be as simple or as wholesome as spending time whenever we wanted to. Of course not, the older you are, the more responsibilities you have. But I wasn't ready yet. I wasn't ready to let go of that life that…" – and she somehow manages to stutter and cry a single tear – "T-that life I loved."

- "I was, I guess, a perfectionist. That's just who I was. And if it wasn't for the fact that we fought on top of the stairs or that Sunny had broken his violin… we probably would've gotten grounded as far as I'm concerned. That's all."

- "But what about Basil?"

- (sigh) "Basil…"

- "…"

- "What he did, what they both did, was wrong. Was messed up. But it was the heat of the moment. I don't think we would've fared any better." – she chuckles – "And he protected my brother. He protected him from the consequences when he could've clearly told the truth and maybe, avoided this situation altogether. But Sunny was first on his mind and while I don't condone what he did, I understand it.

- "I…"

- "I've had conscience since that day, and of course, I was mad at them too! Don't get me wrong, I was absolutely furious! I never hated Sunny for what he did, but I resented it. Why? Because that… was my life. That was the end of the story that could've been. I had aspirations, I had dreams, I had goals. All taken away from me." – and she notices Hero clench his fists.

- "Yet… it happened. It happened and I couldn't do anything about it. I slowly came to realize how useless negative emotions were at that point. And I want you to realize that too. Nothing can bring me back. Nothing can give me back my life. Rather than thinking that apologies wouldn't be enough, I accepted everything. And I want you too. For your own good."

- "Why? I'm… I already dug myself too deep. I'm… I'm filled with emotions that I don't think I can't control any longer. I let everything happen. Wasn't there for Kel, wasn't there for Aubrey, wasn't there for Basil… w-wasn't there for Sunny."

- "The fact that you care about all of them, means that you can still fix this. And if you can fix this, you can fix everything. Everyone's punished themselves enough, especially Sunny and Basil. It breaks my heart to know my brother became a recluse that… wished for a hug that would never come. It breaks my heart that even in his dreams, I was nothing more than an afterthought. Somehow even he was aware that, while present, I was still gone. He dreamt and imagined adventures with all of you in a fantasy world, and I couldn't participate in them. It breaks my heart that all of you had to live through hell."

- "But I'm proud of all of you. And I want you to live through this last stretch… I want you to get through together. Because you all deserve it. You do. And that's why…" – she sighs – "I'm not going to ask you to forget about everything that happened. I'm not even going to ask you to move on because part of me doesn't want you to. But I want you to forgive them, and most importantly, forgive yourself."

- "…"

- "I love you. I love you so much… I…" – and she hugs him. Hero can feel the warm embrace of his lost friend. She starts crying.

- "I w-wouldn't h-had b-been… I wouldn't b-be Mari, without my precious Hero, m-my Hero in shining armor…"

Hero can't hold it back and lets out the most heart-wrenching cries anyone's ever heard. Luckily for him, his parents are trying their best to calm down Sally from a nightmare.

- "I l-lo-ove you so m-much… I l-loved you s-so much… I w-want this moment t-to last f-forever. And I know it's not going to! But, I-I'll do w-whatever it takes to make you proud, I promise." – almost as if he's regressed back to a younger version of himself, he talks like a scared kid – "You're right about everything and I just spent so much time wishing for a way to relive the old days… I…"

Both are almost screeching, but Hero manages to calm down enough to say something.

- "I… I will try my best to do what you would want me to do. I will try my best to keep being *that* Hero. I promise you."

- "Hehe… we never really cried like this, did we?"

- "We had no reason to."

And they laugh, before slowly letting go.

- "D-don't promise me that though. Promise me that you'll do your best to live a life you won't regret. To live the life that you want to." – she says, trying to regain composure.

- "…"

They share one last smile, assuming that this conversation is coming to an end.

- "I promise you that I'll do that, hehe…"

- "I'm counting on you." – she chuckles and looks at the now black sky.

- "You should go to the park and bring Kel back home. It's late."

- "Heh… I should. Mom's not going to be happy about him being out right now."

Hero makes space between the two and closes the window.

- "Goodbye Mari. Hope to see you again sometime. It was… nice to see you."

- "Goodbye Hero. It was… nice to see you too."

And the girl disappears.